Fannie, Freddie need revised affordable housing goals

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need to have their affordable housing missions redefined, including being required to set aside a percentage of their annual net profits as a source of capital for sponsors of affordable housing. That suggestion was just one of 12 reached by a bipartisan group that came together to outline proposals for a national housing policy. The group consisted of Democrats Henry Cisneros, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Nicholas Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University as well as Republicans Jack Kemp, former HUD secretary, and Kent Colton, former CEO and EVP of the National Association of Home Builders. Fannie and Freddie, two housing government-sponsored entities, currently must have a certain percentage of their mortgage purchases be for financing housing for low- and moderate-income borrowers, and borrowers in underserved areas. "While we recognize that percent-of-business goal...